Automatic filling-replenishing loom



A. E. RHOADES.

AUTOMATIC FILLING REPLENISHING 1.00M.

' APPLICATION FILED NOV. 20, 1919.

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A. E. RHOADES.

AUTOMATIC FILLING REPLENISHING LOOM.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 20. 1919.

1, 35 1 1 90, Patented Aug. 31, 1920.

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rarer ASSIGNOR TO DRAPER COB/P0- A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

AUTOMATIC FILLING-REPLENISHING LQOM.

21,351,]t9ti. i

Application filed November 20, 1919.

To all whom it may concern lie it known that l. Alonso E. iriolxnns, a citizen of the Uni .1 States, residing at iiopedale, county of Worcester, State of liiassachusetts, have invented an improvement in Automatic Filling licplenishing Looms. of which the following description, '1 connection with the accompanying drawing, is a specification, like characters on the drawing representing like parts.

This invention relates to automatic filling replenishing looms wherein a magazine or hopper containing a supply of fresh filling carriers is provided and wherein upon the call for filling replenishment a fresh filling carrier is transferred from this magazine or hopper to the lay.

it sometimes happens that the supply of filling carriers in the magazine or hopper is allowed to run out. It this happens, or if for any other reason a fresh filling carrier is not in position in the hopper ready for transfer upon the call for filling replenishment. it follows that when the call. for replenishment occurs the mechanism will go through the operations of transfer but without transferring any fresh filling carrier from the hopper to the lay with the result that one or more picks of imperfect weaving will occur before the loom is stopped.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a construction in which if, after a fresh filling carrier has been transferred from the hopper to the lay, the supply of fresh filling carriers has become exhausted or for any otherreason a fresh filling carrier is not brought into position ready for transfer that the loom shall then be stopped, thus enabling the operative to fill up the hopper or properly position the filling car riors therein so that a fresh filling carrier will be in position for the next transfer.

in an application Serial No. 330 filed concurrently herewith I have disclosed an invention for securing this object embodied in a construction in which the stopping of the loom is effected through the agency of the usual warp stop motion employed on such looms, and have presented broad claims to the invention The present invention is subordinate to the broad idea in the aforesaid application and is directed to a different means for securing the same result.

It is the object of the present invention 1n Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. v31, 1920. Serial No. 339,332.

the preferred form illustrated to provide a construction in which the stopping of the loom effected, when the condition referred to arises, through the agency of the pro tector mechanism commonly employed on iooms of this type to effect the stopping of the loom in case the shuttle is improperly boxed or is trapped in the shed.

These and other objects and feature's of the invention will appear more fully from the accompanying description and drawings and will be particularly pointed out in the claims.

The drawings show a preferred form of the invention embodied in an automatic filling replenishing loom of the well known Northrop type provided with an ordinary form of protector mechanism.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation partially broken away of a portion of the loom with a preferred form of the invention embodied therein.

Fig. 2 is a view of a portion of the construction shown in Fig. 1 taken in side elevation looking in a direction opposite to that in Fig. 1.

Fig. is a rear elevation of the finger of the protector mechanism.

Fig. 4 is a View similar to Fig. 3 showing the members of thebinder fingers separated.

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the construction shown in Fig. 3 together with the end of the separator member.

Fig. 6 is a View similar to Fig. 2 showing the feeler positioned to detect absence of a fresh filling carrier from another position in the hopper.

The general construction andoperation of the Northrop type of automatic filling replenishing loom, and the general construction and operation of the protector mechanism are both well known to those skilled in the art and hence it will be necessary to describe only those features, particularly related to the present invention. The patent to Northrop No. 911,152, granted February 2, 1909, may-serve as an illustration of an on dinary form of protector mechanism In the loom illustrated for embodying a preferred form of the present invention the breast beam 1 at the front of the loom supports at the right hand side the hopper stand 2 in which revolves. the rotary hopper 3 carrying the supply of fresh filling carg-v bin der riers 4 arranged in a circular series of peripheral seats 5. This rotary hopper or feeder acts in the usual manner to bring the filling carriers successively to transferring position which is the position in which the filling carrier 1 is shown in Figs. 1 and 2. This position is usually determined by the butt of the filling carrier being brought by the rotation of the hopper into contact with a curved abutment 6.

When the running filling carrier has be come wholly or partially exhausted suitable indicating mechanism sets in motion meche anism by which replenishment is effected by a transfer of a fresh filling carrier from the hopper to the lay 7 and by whichthe exhausted filling carrier is forced out through the lay. This transfer is usually effected by a transferrer 8 pivoted upon a stud 9 and which upon the call for filling replenishment swings downwardly forcing thefilling carrier 4- resting against the abutment 6 out of the hopper on to the lay which is then located directly beneath.

It will be recognized that if a fresh filling carrier is not located beneath the transferrer or in position for transfer that the transferring mechanism will go through'its motions without effecting any transfer, and he loom will continue to run with the exhausted filling carrier thus making one or more picks of imperfect cloth which it is highly desirable to avoid especially in the automatic filling replenishing loom provided with a feeler for detecting substantial exhaustion of filling in the running shuttle and effecting transfer before complete exhaustion takes place.

This difficulty is obviated by the present invention by means of a mechanism which stops the'operation of the loom if the supply of filling carriers has become exhausted, or if a fresh filling carrier is not in position for transfer in the hopper, and in the preferred form illustrated this is effected through the protector mechanism with whichisuch a loom .is commonly' provided andwhich normally acts to stop the loom when the shuttle is improperly boxed or is trapped'in the shed. V

The construction and operation of an ordinary form of protector mechanism is fully disclosed in the patent to Northrop above referred to. In this type of mechanism when the shuttle 10 is properly and completely boxed at the end of its flight it presses rearwardly the movable, shuttle binder 11 which is normally pressed toward the shuttle box. The shuttle binderrwhen thuspressed rearwardly moves a binder finger 12 clamped on an arm 13'which projects from the'dagger' rod 14; journaled in suitable brackets-15 on the front of the lay;

The binder finger moving rocks the dagger rod 14 and raises the forwardly projecting dagger 16 so that when with the shuttle properly positioned in its box the dagger will not engage the frog 17. If, however, the shuttle 10 is not properly boxed at the end of its flight or if it is trapped in the shed then the shuttle binder 11 will not be moved'or will not be moved sufiiciently to move the binder finger to elevate the dagger 16 to bring its path above the frog 17. Consequently when the lay beats up with the mis'positioned shuttle, the dagger 16 will catch on the frog 17 and slide the frog forwardly. When the frog is thus slid forwardly its front end 18 contacts with the usual knock-off lever 19 pivo at 20 on the loom side and rocks the knock-off lever causing it to throw the shipper handle 21 out of its retaining notch and allow it to spring to the end of its slot carrier'is absent at a predetermined point.

in the hopper.

The binder finger'in' the form of the invention illustrated is composed of the main binder finger '12 andthe auxiliary binder finger 23. .The auxiliary finger 23 as shown is provided with a hub 24 fitting over the arm 13 of the dagger rod and locked thereto by the set screw 25. This hub 2% has projecting laterally therefrom a stud 26 the lay beats up upon which the main finger 12 is mounted to slide toward and from the auxiliary finger. The two fingers are normally held in closed position slightly separated by the projection 27 by means of the helical spring 28 connected at its ends to studs 29 and 30 extending laterally and forwardly from the fingers 23 and 12 respectively.

The main finger 12 is. provided with a transversebar 31 the face of which rests against the shuttle binder 11; The auxiliary finger 23 is provided with a transverse bar 32 which extends laterally behind a shoulder 33 on the finger 12.

So far as the ordinary action of the protector mechanism is concerned this two part binder finger acts as a single finger. The shuttle binder acts against the face of the bar 31 and when it presses rearwardly on this bar rocks the finger '12 and consefinger 23 follows with it thus dropping the dagger into the path of the frog.

Suitable means are provided for detecting the absence of a fresh filling carrier at a predetermined point such as the point of transfer in the hopper. F or this purpose the bracket l'lt is mounted on the breast beam adjaccntthe hoppers and and in this bracket is iou naled a shaft El). This shaft 35 at one end ca ries a rearwardly projecting feeler 36 so positioned that its curved end rests against the body of the filling carrier l when it in position in the hopper ready for transfer. The other end of the shaft has secured thereto by means of the set screw 37 a hub 38 carrying,' a rearwardly projecting); separator member. This separator member is shaped and constructeo required and is conveniently shown as made in two parts first a rod 39 secured in the hub 38, and second. a fiat blade ll) secured to the rear end of the rod This fiat blade 4:0 is pointed at its rear end and is mounted so that the pointed rear end is in alinen'ient with the space 41 between the main and auxiliary binder fingers.

The operation will now be apparent. So long; as a filling carrier 4: is in place in thehopper in position for transfer the feeler 36 is held in its normal elevated position with the parts in the. position shown in F 1. That is to say, the separator member 40 stands well above the upper end of the binder linger in line with the space ll and the binder finger is in the closed position shown in F 3. If replenishment takes place and another filling); carrier comes into posi ion for transfer, the parts are retained in this position and nothing happens. If, however, transfer takes place and the supply of fresh filling carriers in the hopper has become exhausted or if for any other reason no fresh filling carrier comes into position for transfer there is nothing to support the feeler 36 and it consequently through the action of gravity aided in this respect by the weight of the separator member falls or swings downwardly rocking the shaft and carryingdownwardly the separator member until the pointed end thereof is directly in front of the space 41 between the main and auxiliary binder fingers. l l hen now the lay heats up the separator member will be forced between the main and amziliary binder fingers causing the main binder fingger to slide away from the auxiliary finger until the end of the bar 32 clears the edge of the main binder. finger. Tl hereupon the auxiliary binder finger si nos -forwardly independently of the main binder finger to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, thus dropping the dagger nto position to engage the frog. Consequently as the beat up of the lay concludes,

the frog is moved forwardly rocking the ham e to effect the stopping of the loom.

l-Then the loom has been stopped under the action of the mechanism of this invention the operative then replenishes the hopper or places a fresh filling carrier in position in the hopper ready for transfer and conse-ip'iently no operation of the trans fer-ring mechanism can take place without a fresh filling; carrier actually being, transferred.

in the construction illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 the feeler is shown as positioned to indicate the absence of a fresh filling car rier from transferring position, but it is obvious that this is but one, although a preferred position, which the feeler may occupy and that its broad function in detecting a predetermined degree of depletion of the supply of fresh filling; carriers in the hopper or in detecting the absence of fresh filling carrier at a predetermined point in the hopper may allow the feeler to detect at any other predetermined point. In Fig. 6 the feeler 4:2 is shown as located to detect absence of the fresh filling carrier at a different predetermined position in the hopper.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is- 1. An automatic filling replenishing loom comprising a hopper containing a supply of fresh filling carriers for successive transfer to the lay, means for detecting a predetermined depletion of said supply, loom stopping means, protector mechanism operative to effect actuation of the loom stopping means, and means controlled by the detectinn action of the detecting: means acting to render the protector mechanism operative to effect the actuation of the loom stopping means.

2. An automatic filling replenishing loom comprising a hopper containing a supply of fresh filling carriers for successive transfer to the lay, means for detecting absence of a fresh filling carrier from position ready for transfer upon the call for filling replenishment, loom stopping: means, protector mechanism operative to effect actuation of the loom stopping means, and means controlled by the detecting action of the detecting means acting to render the protector mechanism operative to effect the actuation of the loom stopping: means.

3. An automatic filling replenishing loom comprising a hopper containing a supply of fresh filling carriers for successive transfer to the lay, a movable feeler held against movement by the filling carrier in position in the hopper for transfer to the lay, loom stopping means, protector mechanism operative to effect actuation of the loom stopping means, and means controlled by the movei'resh filling ment of the feeler resulting from absence oi a filling-carrier in position ior transfer to render the protector mechanism operative to effect the actuation of the loom stopping feelcr and cooperatingwith the binder finger to permit the binder finger upon movement of the feeler to tilt and thereby to effect: the actuation of the loom stopplng means. 7

5. An automatic filling replenishing loom comprising a hopper containing a supply of fresh filling carriers for successive transfer to the lay, a feeler movablymounted adjacent to, and held against movement by, a

filling carrier in predetermined position in the hopper, loom stopping means, protector mechanism including a two part separable binder finger and a connected dagger tiltable into position to effect actuation of the loom stopping means, the two parts of the binder finger tiltable together when in closed position and the one part tiltable with respect to the other part when'in separated aosition' a se )arator member connected to V and operated by the feeler and acting upon movement oi the feeler due to absence of thefilling carrier to separatethe binder finger parts and thus permit one part to tilt means. r

6. An automatic filling replenishing loom comprising a'hopper containing a supply of and effect actuation of the loom stopping fresh filling carriers for successive transfer to the lay, a feeler pivotally mounted adjacent to and resting against a filling carrier when in a predetermined position in the hopper, loom stopping means, protector mechanism including a main binder finger and an auxiliary binder finger, a dagger tiltable into position to efiiectv actuation of the loom stopping means, the said main binder finger and auxiliary binder finger mounted to permit relative separation therea of and acting to tilt together when in closed position to tilt the dagger, the auxiliary binder finger acting when the binder 'fingers' are separated to tilt alone to tilt the dagger, a separator member connected to and swinging with the feeler, the said sepantor member being held above the binder fingers when the feeler is in contact with a i llin carrier in the hopper and when the filling carrier is absent being dropped into position opposite the space between the binder fingers whereby upon the beat up the separator member. acts to separate the binder fingers and permit the auxiliary binder finger to tilt alone.

7. In an automatic filling replenishing loom, loom stopping means, a rock shaft, a dagger connected to the rock shaft and acting when tilted to effect the actuation of the loom stopping means, an arm projecting from the rock shaft, an auxiliary binder finger mounted upon said arm, a main binder finger mounted upon and laterally separable with respect to the auxiliary binder finger, and means acting to cause the binder fingers when in closed position to move together as a single finger and when in separated position to causethe auxiliary binder finger to move alone without'moving the main binder finger.

' In testimony whereof, have signedmy name to this specification.

ALONZO E. RHOADES. 

